DJI Announces Air 3 Drone: Powerful Addition to Air Series
Dual primary cameras, up to 46 minutes flight time, omnidirectional obstacle sensing, O4 HD video transmission
DJI continues to raise the bar for small drones. today, DJI Launches Air 3: Equipped with a wide-angle camera and a 3x medium-telephoto camera. The Air 3 is an aerial photography enthusiast’s dream and a great all-rounder for commercial drone pilots. Currently priced at $1,099 (up to around $1500 for the Fly More combo), the Air 3 offers amazing features for its size and cost.
“DJI Air 3 is the first drone in the Air series to offer professional features such as dual primary cameras and omnidirectional obstacle sensing, while maintaining a lightweight feature of just 720g for even more freedom and flexibility,” said Ferdinand Wolff, Creative Director of DJI. “Drones are great all-rounders for outdoor adventures and offer a more diverse camera language.”
Advantages of Dual Primary Cameras: Great Images
DJI says the Air 3’s dual cameras will allow content creators to highlight subjects in the frame. The Air 3 is equipped with a 1/1.3-inch CMOS wide-angle camera and a 1/1.3-inch CMOS 3x medium-telephoto camera. “The two cameras feature the same sensor size, but different focal lengths, resulting in more consistent image quality and a more diverse camera language,” he explained in the DJI announcement. “The wide-angle camera allows you to capture vast landscapes more fully. It has a pixel size of 2.4μm, a 24mm format equivalent and an aperture of F1.7. The 3x medium telephoto camera has a pixel size of 2.4μm, a format equivalent of 70mm and an aperture of F2.8.”
For content creators, DJI Air 3 makes posting easy. DJI Air 3 supports 2.7K vertical video recording (9:16) for instant sharing on social media.
longer flight times, better battery charging,
With a maximum flight time of 46 minutes, the pilot has a lot of flexibility. DJI Air 3 also offers a new battery charging hub with power storage. This means users can transfer the remaining power of multiple batteries to the battery with the most remaining power. By optimizing power and flight time, the Air 3 offers great advantages in the field.
Air 3 + RC 2
Omnidirectional obstacle detection
Designed with photographers and content creators in mind, DJI Air 3 enables stunning photography without the need for expert piloting skills. DJI Air 3 features omnidirectional obstacle sensing. “The front and rear of the drone are equipped with a pair of fisheye lenses to achieve forward, backward, left, right and upward sensing, while the bottom is equipped with binoculars and 3D TOF,” he explained in a DJI release. “If an obstacle is detected, DJI Air 3 can also use APAS 5.0 to actively avoid obstacles and smoothly avoid them, ensuring uninterrupted filming and greatly enhancing the flight experience. Users can fly with confidence and bring out more creative ideas, even if they are new to aerial photography.
feature
From the DJI release:
Focus tracks for both cameras: It consists of Spotlight 2.0, ActiveTrack 5.0 and Point of Interest 3.0. FocusTrack keeps your subject in the center of the frame. Using a 3x medium telephoto camera creates a unique sense of spatial compression, making pilots and other human subjects stand out beautifully.
Quickshot: Allow DJI Air 3 to perform creative camera moves such as Rocket, Dronie, Circle, Helix, Boomerang, Asteroid and more..
2.7K vertical shooting: DJI Air 3 supports dual-camera 2.7K vertical video recording. The wide-angle camera can contain a wealth of image information, and the 3x medium-telephoto camera can capture subjects such as pilots, making it easier to create more eye-catching vertical aerial shots. 2.7K vertical shot output can be instantly shared on social media without post-cropping.
Master shot: DJI Air 3 can automatically perform various camera movements, shoot multiple clips, edit clips and add music to quickly and easily generate cinematic footage.
Night mode: Thanks to its noise reduction algorithm, DJI Air 3 can capture clear footage up to 4K/30fps even in low-light environments.
Hyperlapse: Shoot up to 4K horizontal or 2.7K vertical time-lapse footage in 4 sub-modes: Free, Circle, Course Lock and Waypoint.
Slow motion: Select 4K/100fps or 1080p/100fps to record 4x slow motion video directly.
SmartPhoto 3.0: In Single Shot mode, DJI Air 3 uses SmartPhoto 3.0 by default. It automatically selects HDR, Hyperlight and Scene Recognition depending on the scenario for better image processing results. The HDR DNG format allows the camera to record a wider dynamic range with built-in contrast enhancement. Image files can achieve his JPG-level quality in post-editing software, easing post-production difficulties.
Quick transfer: Save time and effort by quickly downloading photos and videos from the aircraft to your smartphone through a wireless connection.
Light cut: Wirelessly connect DJI Air 3 to your phone’s LightCut app to intelligently recognize highlight moments and edit them with a single tap. It saves your phone’s storage as you don’t have to download the footage during the process.
One-tap editing: Intelligently identify composition and flight path, select clips with fine composition and stable camera movement, automatically match the best templates and sound effects to easily generate cinematic videos.
Tilt-shift effect: Enjoy stunning effects that make your shots look like miniatures or toys with just one tap. Applying this feature to footage shot with a 3x medium telephoto camera yields even better results.
RC N2 Combo
Waypoint flight: This function was first installed in the Air series. Users can pre-plan flight routes and filming actions in DJI Air 3 to achieve difficult camera moves like one-take. Pilots can even save flight routes to repeat the exact same mission later, making it easy to create long time-lapse videos of him that capture the transition from day to night, season to season, and more.
Great accessories for better flight performance
DJI Air 3 ND Filter Set: The set offers ND8/16/32/64 filters, allowing users to create smoother footage even at slow shutter speeds.
DJI 100W USB-C Power Adapter: The power adapter can quickly charge the battery and remote controller at the same time, or charge mobile devices via the USB-C port.
DJI 65W Car Charger: Lightweight and portable car charger uses a universal port. You can charge batteries, remote controls, smartphones, laptops and other devices.
price and availability
DJI Air 3 is available to order from store.dji.com and authorized retail partners in the configurations below, and will begin shipping today.
- DJI Air 3 (DJI RC-N2) retails at $1,099
- DJI Air 3 Fly More Combo (DJI RC-N2) retail price $1,349
- DJI Air 3 Fly More Combo (DJI RC 2) retails for $1,549
Miriam McNabb, editor-in-chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of professional drone services marketplace JobForDrones, is a keen observer of the emerging drone industry and drone regulatory environment. Miriam is an international speaker and industry recognized figure, with over 3,000 articles focused on the commercial drone space. Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and he has over 20 years of experience in high tech sales and marketing new technologies.
For drone industry consulting or writing, email Miriam.
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